With its X2 brand targeting the luxury segment and Away offering resort-type properties, BHMAsia believes there is a market for mid-priced hotels such as X2 Vibe, its new millennial brand focusing on the four-star segment with strong design elements.
Speaking at the launch of X2 Vibe Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel yesterday, BHMAsia’s CEO Anthony McDonald said the conception of its newest brand is driven by increased demand for design-led accommodation at the mid-market level.
The newly-opened X2 Vibe Bangkok Sukhumvit
“X2 Vibe doesn’t demand a huge amount of investment but a large amount of creativity,” McDonald remarked. X2 Vibe properties are typically 100-200 keys, and inherits “some original DNA” of its older sister X2 to feature attractive interiors and looks that resonate with millennials.
“However, it’s more about psychographics rather than demographics; we want to attract the independent and creative types,” commented McDonald on the target customers of X2 Vibe.
The brand’s flagship, X2 Vibe Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel, soft-opened in March in On Nut, an up-and-coming and largely residential district in Bangkok. The property has 145 guestrooms and 121 serviced residences, offering facilities such as an all-day dining cafe, sea-salt pool, poolside bar, fitness centre, spa with a Japanese onsen, and a meeting room that can accommodate up to 48 pax.
Superior room with bath
McDonald foresees X2 Vibe would become BHMAsia’s biggest brand due to its mid-market appeal. In addition to Bangkok, there are two other X2 Vibe properties in Chiang Mai and Buriram, plus four more X2 Vibe hotels opening in Thailand and Vietnam over the coming months.
Adopting an “opportunistic” expansion strategy, McDonald states that BHMAsia is quickly scaling up in Vietnam and Indonesia outside of its Thailand base. Vietnam, in particular, will boast a sizeable portfolio with about 12-14 properties by next year, while in Indonesia the focus will be kept on Bali, Lombok and Jakarta.
And with Flight Centre Travel Group’s (FLT) acquisition of BHMAsia being such a fresh deal, McDonald thinks it’s still too early to specify the impacts the new owner will bring but does not rule out leveraging “synergies” across FLT and its subsidiaries.
“It will certainly add more fuel to our (expansion) engine,” McDonald told TTG Asia.
